Gillian Dunn
Roster: KYARNA
Location: NSW
Listen: Gillian’s Manager Of The Month Playlist
Proud Moments in Management
Where do I begin! Kyarna is an incredible person first and foremost. She is generous, kind, collaborative and brings people with her through the doors she opens and walks through. Kyarna has a very clear vision for her future, the stories she wants to tell and how to bring it all together to deliver through her songs. She’s taken life’s adversity and transformed it into the most vulnerable, heartfelt and genuine songs I’ve heard in a long time.
When Ky sets her mind on something, she envisages the dream, builds the plan, follows through and makes it a reality. She isn’t afraid to pivot and takes disappointment in her stride, with the view it’s a course correction onto the path for the next opportunity. I’m so proud of her debut EP ‘Lost Soul Love Letters’, which from start to end flows beautifully, representing significant moments in her life, where there are no skips and the tears fall in the best way!
Inspiration and Motivation
Quite simply I became an artist manager because Kyarna asked me to be hers – she likes to say she forced me into it hahaha, but I knew I’m a massive fan of hers and wanted to do anything I could to support her trajectory of being able to share her music with the world. That looked like putting a manager hat on and felt right. We have aligned values, are kindred spirits and laugh a lot together. It might not be a traditional path, maybe it is, but it’s one that makes sense for us and how I know it will be sustainable. We complement each other’s skill sets and that makes for a powerful combination.
What keeps me motivated is supporting an incredibly talented songwriter and artist share her stories through music that is genuine, authentic and relatable, Music and art in all its forms have always played a pivotal role in society throughout all the ages and now is no different, the world and humanity needs great music that makes us feel something and Kyarna’s songs has that in spades. I’m passionate about ensuring music creatives get the support, information and clarity they need to do the thing they love and remind them, they already have everything they need inside to succeed, it just sometimes needs some nurturing, encouragement and guidance.
One Change That Could Better Support Managers and Artists
I’d like to see the music industry fundamentally change how we share knowledge and build capability around artists and managers.
We often talk about creating more opportunities for artists, but opportunity without the knowledge to navigate it doesn’t necessarily create agency. Music creatives already hold the most valuable part of the ecosystem — their creativity — yet the business knowledge around rights, royalties, contracts, financial literacy, data and investment can still feel unnecessarily difficult to access.
I’d like us to move away from an industry where knowledge can operate as currency or gatekeeping, towards one where building the capability of music creatives is considered part of building a healthy industry.
That doesn’t mean artists need to become experts in everything or do everything themselves. It means knowing enough to understand their own ecosystem: what they do well, where the gaps are, and when bringing in a manager, agent, lawyer, publicist, accountant or other specialist will genuinely add value.
I believe artists are already the CEOs of their creativity. Our role should be to give them the knowledge, tools and ecosystem to lead it — so the relationships they build around their careers are informed partnerships rather than dependencies.
That shift benefits managers too. Great management shouldn’t be about holding the keys to someone’s career; it should be about helping artists build sustainable careers they understand, participate in and ultimately own.
AAM’s Impact on My Journey
While I’m coming up to 25 years at APRA AMCOS, with deep experience across rights management, music publishing and leadership, Soul Sound Management is only two and a half years young. AAM has been invaluable in helping me translate that experience into this new chapter as an artist manager.
The resources are practical and relevant wherever you are in your management journey, but it’s the intentional community-building — locally and globally — that I’ve found particularly valuable. It’s helped me build knowledge, relationships and confidence in my own approach to management.
And that community is already creating tangible opportunities. I met a Canadian manager through an AAM event who I’ll reconnect with when I travel to Folk Canada this October, supported by Music Australia’s International Conference Contribution for Managers through AAM.
That investment and belief in an emerging manager means a great deal. More importantly, it enables me to be on the ground alongside KYARNA at a pivotal moment in her North American export strategy — building the relationships and networks that can support future writing, touring and career opportunities in Canada.
For me, that’s the value of AAM: helping managers grow so we can create better opportunities for the artists we serve.